Reed Bed System for the Improvement of Laguna Lake Waters

Abstract

Laguna lake is the biggest lake and considered one of the most important inland bodies of water in the Philippines due to its many uses. However, the lake has faced growing pressures (i.e., population expansion, urbanization, industrialization, deforestation, and land conversion) on its ecosystems over the past decades. These activities have led to the degradation of the lake’s water quality and ecosystem.The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) provided a water quality standard for freshwater in determining trends and in the evaluation of stages of deterioration or enhancement in quality of water which include 1) Class AA (Public Water Supply Class I); 2) Class A (Public Water Supply Class II); 3) Class B (Recreational Water Class I); Class C (Propagation and growth of fish class); and Class D (Navigable Waters). The classification of Laguna Lake falls under Class C, which means it is suitable for fishery. With this, intervention for the improvement of the water in Laguna Lake is highly needed. This study aims to design and assess the effectiveness of the reed bed system for the improvement of Laguna Lake. Results show that using reed bed water treatment; the total coliform will meet the standards of DENR after three years of treatment, which can be used as a source of water for irrigation, recreational area, and propagation of fishes. The concentration of ammonia will meet the standards of DENR after two and a half years by using reed bed water treatment, and inorganic phosphate will meet the standards of DENR after three years by using reed bed water treatment.